I usually pride myself on spotting optical illusions, but this one trending on Facebook stumped me. After turning my screen sideways, squinting, and zooming in, I still had to peek at the comments to figure it out. Once you see it, though, it’s impossible to unsee—and you’ll wonder how you missed it at first.
Optical illusions, like the famous blue/gold dress, work because your brain takes shortcuts when processing what you see. Light bounces off an object, turning into electrical signals that your brain quickly translates into an image. Sometimes, the colors and textures in the image confuse your brain into merging them.
If you’re still struggling, try covering the top and bottom thirds of the picture. It’s a cigar sticking outwards!
